We are at the point where we now need to select our flooring for our new Hamptons themed house. To conform to the theme we are looking for a dark brown coloured floor.

We had always set aside a budget with engineered timber in mind. But after visting a couple of shops the sales people seem to be trying to persuade us towards laminate. They mainly start this when I tell them we have a dog. He's a 10kg dog so not exactly big.

I have to admit to being impressed with the high end laminate finishes. I was looking at the Classica XXL in Harvey Norman and I have seen mentioned on here the Eligna Wide range which I will go and look at this weekend.

Another thing to mention is the main room where the flooring will be will have direct sun exposure for some hours of the day where with it being north facing and floor to ceiling windows for max light.

I was wondering if anyone had any experiences of laminate vs engineered, bearing in mind the sun exposure and dog?

Also, if anyone would recommend a dealer in Perth would be great. I don't want to just go to Harvey Normans and take their price. Best to shop around but there are so many options so it's all a bit daunting at the moment.

Hi Matt1927, I researched hard flooring options fairly extensively and settled on a relatively premium engineered wood for our new build. Some points: - Consider luxury vinyl if you want ultimate durability, I installed this about 5 years ago in our current house and i'm convinced its the most durable thing on the market its about 5 ml thick, flexible, will not react to water - we've had water leaks on it which we've not noticed, its in our bathrooms too, i've dragged tables and things over it etc unless you catch the light at the right angle you cannot even see the lightest of skuffing. Was going to get it again but i'm a sucker for real wood look and feel. - Laminate is often backed by cheap chipboard or similar which can react a lot to an moisture. It is durable top layered but it just doesn't feel like wood under foot. It can move around abit too, and if your concerned about VOC's then its probably best to avoid also. The top layer is still thin and if you do scratch through it then replacement is pretty much your only option, cannot repair like timber. - Solid timber - I was going to have this but found that wide boards are unavailable or mega expensive, its also more liable to warp and be water affected than engineered timber which is available in wide board due to a thinner top layer. Solid timber can still only be sanded a couple times before hitting the groove anyway so there seems no point to me to have the timber layer any thicker.Engineered - many variations, but a cross laminated with 2 or 3 layers seems like the go (solid wood centre) the one i'm getting is rubberwood centre, 4mm white oak top. Its meant to be more structurally sound than solid timber etc.

We've since had some quotes back and I think it's safe to say that Engineered is out of reach for our budget. Sad face.

We looked at some laminates on the weekend and have to say that we were quite impressed with how they look. They also fit to our budget. But you make some points there which concern me a little. We have been looking at the higher end ones which are 12mm thick and come with a protective seal which I believe is applied to the whole floor once it's all down.

We didn't even look at the vinyl floors so I may take a look at this as well now and add it to the quotes we are getting.

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ ShareWe're doing a modern Hamptons/French Farmhouse touch to our new build and have gone with engineered timber for the sheer look and feel of the product as well as qualityWe got ours from Dynamiq Flooring in North Rocks and our sales guy Tii was out of this world. Totally kept us up to date with our order, and the (newly started) layering. We have been nothing but happy with it all so far and can't wait to see how it all looks once it's all finished.

I'd give him a call and get the low down on what best suites your needs and can guarantee, you will be completely satisfied

LOL...Everyone uses Trusted engineering terms theses days to spruik builds..ie engineered Timber, shear look & Dynamic flooring.Tho not sure about the Reinforcement mesh in the wine rack.. it should be embedded in the concrete also the mirror makes it look like you got twice the amount of booze?.. not a criticism BTW

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ ShareWe're doing a modern Hamptons/French Farmhouse touch to our new build and have gone with engineered timber for the sheer look and feel of the product as well as qualityWe got ours from Dynamiq Flooring in North Rocks and our sales guy Tii was out of this world. Totally kept us up to date with our order, and the (newly started) layering. We have been nothing but happy with it all so far and can't wait to see how it all looks once it's all finished.

I'd give him a call and get the low down on what best suites your needs and can guarantee, you will be completely satisfied